Watch Barcelona's Dani Alves respond to racist act by eating banana

Barcelona defender Dani Alves eats a banana thrown at him during a match Sunday.

Barcelona defender Dani Alves eats a banana thrown at him during a match Sunday.

Chuck Schilken

Dani Alves has faced racism before and he says he knows how to deal with it: “with a dose of humor."

The Barcelona defender did just that Sunday in a game at Villarreal when a spectator threw a banana at him as he was preparing to take a corner kick.

Without missing a beat, Alves picked up the piece of fruit, peeled it, shoved a piece into his mouth and proceeded to take the kick.

Alves, who was subjected to monkey chants last year, later posted a video of the incident on Instagram, joking that his father always told him to eat bananas to prevent cramping.

“We have suffered this in Spain for some time,” Alves said after the game. “You have to take it with a dose of humor. We aren't going to change things easily. If you don't give it importance, they don't achieve their objective.”

Teammate Neymar, Argentina striker Sergio Aguero and Brazil women's striker Marta are among those who have responded with humor as well.